Early morning South Plainfield fire kills 4 children, grandmother

SOUTH PLAINFIELD — Four children and their grandmother perished in a raging house fire in South Plainfield early this morning that one fire official called the most intense he had ever witnessed.

A relative identified the woman killed as Ann Jefferson, 62. The relative, Paula Jefferson, who lives in Augusta, Ga., said the oldest of the four children killed was 12 and the youngest was a toddler.

Four others, including an 8-year-old in critical condition, were being treated for injuries at area hospitals, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said.

The 8-year-old boy was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital this morning — but was transferred to Saint Barnabas Medical Center and its burn unit, said Peter Haigney, spokesman for the New Brunswick hospital.

One male patient from the South Plainfield volunteer rescue squad was also treated for minor injuries this morning at Robert Wood, Haigney added.

The fire sparked about 3 a.m. at 1407 Clinton Ave., one half of a duplex within a converted 130-year old former farmhouse on the corner of Laurel Lane, authorities said

Flames were soon shooting through the home’s roof.

The Star-LedgerSeven-year-old Tyler Davis, left and 2-year-old Elijah Taylor were two of four children killed in an early morning South Plainfield house fire.

“There was just so much heat and fire,” said South Plainfield Deputy Fire Chief Lawrence DelNegro who added that firefighters who tried to enter through the first floor were quickly forced back outside.

Desperate to try to reach those trapped, firefighters put at least six ladders against second-story windows as flames shot from the first floor, DelNegro said. Firefighters smashed through second-floor windows but heat and flames still kept them from entering the home.

A next-door neighbor said the fire was raging by the time firefighters arrived.

“The flames were enormous. They were coming out of the top of the house,” said Robin Stagnitto. “The fire just kept going for a couple of hours.”

Isabel Scavino, who lives on Laurel Lane across the street from the home, said she was awakened by her husband, who had heard screams for help.

“It sounded like fireworks inside,” she said, “like gunshots.”

Scavino said she saw people run out the front door as the fire spread throughout the home.